


Good Intentions

by wasterella



Series: Misconceptions [2]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Awkward Levi, Depending on who you ask, Gen, Illness, and kidnapping, like potential breaking and entering, non-sexual dubious actions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-05
Updated: 2016-05-05
Packaged: 2018-06-06 12:15:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,845
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6753424
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wasterella/pseuds/wasterella
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes people just need a hand to get up off the ground.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Good Intentions

**Author's Note:**

> I get really weird ideas sometimes when I'm tired. Please excuse me. Threw this out in about an hour, please excuse typos.

** Good Intentions. **

The human mind was an amazing and surprising thing. Levi Ackerman could attest to this because he had been coming to this same Wal-Mart for close to twelve years, having gotten used to shopping there while living frugally in the small flat he’d owned down the street. Even though he could afford to shop anywhere he wanted now, Wal-Mart had been good to him in his time of need, so he was going to remain loyal.

In twelve years, he had never once noticed anyone. Not the cashiers, not the workers, not the customers. No one ever stuck out in his mind.

Hanji Zoe didn’t count, they had been Levi’s friend long before working for Wal-Mart. So really, he noticed no one.

Until a month ago, and now it was like he could do nothing _but_  notice.

That kid—the unkempt, dishevelled, starving student—had bashed into him _twice_ , and suddenly Levi saw him all the time. He never went to Wal-Mart at the same time of day, ever, but he always seemed to run into him.

The other never saw him, always staring at the floor, frown on his face and lips moving while he counted.

He always counted.

Levi hadn’t approached him since the first day over a month ago, but whenever he happened to see him, he unconsciously followed him around the store to see if he was doing okay. He found himself often analysing his weight, like he wanted to make sure he didn’t look any thinner. He watched him walk up and down the same aisle looking for the cheapest item of whatever it was he needed. He watched him get checked out, always buying the bare minimum and often things that could last over a number of days.

It was always the same and every time Levi saw him, he felt a strange urge to protect him. To help him and make sure he got enough to eat. He didn’t know _why_  he was so obsessed with him, but could only assume it was because of his own past and his experience with starvation.

Trying not to dwell on it too much, Levi strode resolutely into the store, grabbing a basket and heading for the produce section. He only needed two tomatoes, some cheese and a new toothbrush so his trip should be short and kid-free!

No dice.

He’d just turned out of produce to head for the dairy section when a familiar figure caught his eye.

It was him. The student. He was heading towards the soup aisle but he seemed—wrong. He was walking too slowly and was hugging himself.

Despite his brain insisting he let it go, it wasn’t his business, Levi’s feet forced him to head in his direction, turning down the same aisle and pretending to peruse the sauces on the other side.

The brunet was standing in front of a specific brand of soup, staring at it. Levi saw him hugging his middle and he seemed to be shaking. A stark contrast to the sweat Levi could see beading on his forehead and sliding down the side of his face.

After almost a full minute of staring, the student turned and headed elsewhere. Levi followed him, being sure to stay out of sight this time so he wouldn’t know he was being stalked.

The student headed down another aisle in the pharmacy section and did the same thing he had back in the soup aisle. He stopped in front of something, and stared.

Something was wrong. Levi felt concerned while he watched him, and he wanted to wander over and ask what he was doing.

“What are you doing?” a voice suddenly asked, making Levi jump and whip around.

Hanji was standing right behind him, cocking an eyebrow at him.

“Why are you stalking our customers?”

“I’m not stalking,” Levi replied cooly, turning back to the student. He hadn’t moved from his position but was now looking through his wallet, frame shaking every few seconds.

“Don’t worry about him, he’s a good kid,” Hanji said, misunderstanding Levi’s intense staring. “Sometimes he comes in to check prices to see if they’ve changed. He never steals anything.”

“Didn’t think he would,” Levi barked back, the student shoving his wallet back into his pocket and heading for the exit. “Take this, I’ll be back.” Levi thrust the basket into Hanji and hurried for the door, ignoring his friend’s shocked shout after him.

It was comfortable weather-wise outside. Not too cold, not too warm. Just right, with a mild breeze cooling him beneath his suit jacket. Despite the perfectly pleasant temperature, he could see the student still hugging himself, pulling the hoodie he wore more tightly around himself and shivering, as if he were freezing.

Levi scowled at his back, following half a block behind him. When the brunet turned down a street, Levi felt his chest clench when he recognized it. He was heading in the same direction Levi had back when he’d lived out here. In the poorer part of the area.

Speeding up ever so slightly so he didn’t lose him, Levi rounded the corner and followed behind the student until close to the end of the third block. That was when he turned and headed for one of the buildings, climbing the stairs slowly.

Levi stopped and watched him, the building’s layout making it possible for him to keep the other in sight while he made his way home.

Because of the poor area they were in, buildings out here weren’t regular apartments with a nice lobby and elevator, and a strata council. Instead, it was a building with an outdoor stairwell and exposed corridors so that when the brunet walked out of the stairwell on the fourth floor, Levi saw him stumble to the second door and stop in front of it. He fiddled for a few seconds, presumably unlocking his door, and then practically fell into the apartment. He stayed out of sight while the door closed, suggesting he’d just done so from the floor.

Levi frowned, wondering if he was okay. Was he maybe sick? Soup and medicine, and the shaking and sweating. He was probably sick. He wished he’d known, he’d have bought him something.

Not because he was treating him like a charity case, but because he legitimately knew what it was like to be so poor you couldn’t even afford to buy soup while sick. He didn’t want anything to happen to the student, he was a polite and kind individual, from what Levi could tell.

Realizing he was being weird just standing there, he turned and headed back for the Wal-Mart, mind drifting and scowl on his face.

He wondered about the brunet’s home life. Why was he so down on his luck? Where was his family? Levi had always been an orphan, for as long as he could remember, do he didn’t have anyone to help him. Was the student perhaps in the same boat?

If so, then it was admirable he was actually going to university. Levi hadn’t been able to even pretend to afford it.

“Where did you go?”

Levi looked up and realized he’d made it back to Wal-Mart. He’d been walking on autopilot, so he hadn’t even noticed he’d re-entered the store until Hanji had spoken.

“Nowhere. Where’s my basket?” He snatched said item right out of Hanji’s hand when they held it out to him and headed back into the heart of the store so he could finish his shopping.

“Why were you following him?”

“Shut up,” was Levi’s response, saved from any further interrogation by his phone ringing. He yanked it out of his pocket and answered it.

“What?”

_“I need you to come back to the office. We have a situation.”_

“I’m shopping.”

_“I’m sure harassing Hanji can wait.”_

Levi scowled at that, wanting to snap back at Erwin Smith, but he didn’t have the energy to voice his annoyance.

“Dinner’s on you.”

_“Isn’t it always? Tell Hanji to drop by later.”_

“Tell them yourself.” Levi hung up and shoved his phone back into his pocket before thrusting the basket at Hanji again. “Do your job and put that back.”

“Love you too, Levi.”

Levi said nothing and just stormed out of the store, his level of annoyance rising, mostly in an attempt to stop being so worried.

It wasn’t his problem anyway. _He_  wasn’t his problem.

Dammit.

* * *

Levi had firmly decided that he was going to ignore the student if he saw him again. He wasn’t going to follow him around like a stalker and he wasn’t going to be all weird. If he saw him again, he would just buy him soup and tell Hanji—or a manager—to give it to him when the other came to the front to pay for his things.

That had been his plan. It was a good plan. A normal plan. He liked it.

Too fucking bad he didn’t see the damn kid again! By the fourth day, he was actually starting to wonder if he was being avoided, then remembered the student didn’t even know he was half-stalking him.

Only half though, and only because he wanted to help him out. He wasn’t a creepy stalker.

When he wandered into Wal-Mart on day number five, intent on buying something fattening and unhealthy, he hadn’t even made it through the front section when Hanji was beside him.

“Hey.”

“Don’t you ever work?” Levi snapped in irritation, his day bad enough without Hanji coming to make it worse for him.

“Are you friends with the kid?”

That made him pause, turning to face his friend completely. They looked a little uncomfortable, and Levi’s stomach dropped at the thought that maybe he’d been caught stealing. “What did he do?”

“Do?” Hanji asked, confused. “Nothing. I was just wondering if you were friends with him because I’m... kind of worried.”

“Why?”

Hanji began walking, forcing Levi to follow them, and while they walked, they explained that the last time they had seen him was the day after Levi had chased after him out of the store. He’d come in to check out the soup prices again and had left relatively quickly, but he hadn’t looked well.

Despite how many customers they saw in a day, most people who worked regular hours knew the student, so his absence had been noticed, and his lack of colour during his last visit had concerned more than just Hanji.

“He was super pale, and shaking, and I was actually wondering if I should call an ambulance,” Hanji finished, the two of them having stopped at the end of a random kid’s toys aisle, chatting about the brunet. “You chased after him that one day, so I thought maybe you knew him. I just wanted to make sure he was okay.”

Levi said nothing for a few long seconds, mind racing. He wasn’t friends with the kid, didn’t know anything about him.

But he did know where he lived.

While that _did_  make him a bit of a stalker, he figured going and finding nothing out of the ordinary would be better than not going and finding out the kid had died. He didn’t want to open the newspaper in a few days’ time and see his picture on the front page.

“Levi?”

“I’ll be back.”

He said nothing in explanation and headed out of the store. He debated walking, but with how agitated he suddenly felt, it would just make him anxious walking to the other’s house so he jogged to his car and got behind the wheel. Flying out of the lot faster than was wise, he made it to the student’s building in under two minutes, the drive having been incredibly short given the apartment’s distance from the Wal-Mart.

Parking on the street, he looked both ways quickly before jogging across it, moving around the side of the building and climbing the exposed stairs. He turned off at the fourth floor and moved to the second door, knocking loudly without hesitation.

If he was fine, Levi could make up some stupid story about why he was there and leave. But if he _wasn’t_  fine... if he needed even just soup, or some cough syrup...

Silence.

“Hey,” he called, banging on the door more forcefully. “Hey brat, are you in there?”

Still nothing.

Maybe he was just out of town. Maybe someone had come by and had taken him somewhere else. He wished he _knew_ , but what was he supposed to do, break in?

He wouldn’t break in, but he couldn’t stop himself from checking the door. He froze when the knob turned, granting him access to the other’s apartment. Slowly, he pushed the door open, light pouring into the front hall while it creaked loudly. He stood at the threshold, staring in at the darkness within and wondering what he should do. Levi honestly hadn’t expected the door to open, and he wondered how long it had been unlocked.

Hesitating at the entrance, he scowled angrily at himself and pulled his phone from his pocket, scrolling through his contacts and calling the applicable number, pressing his phone to his ear.

_“Careful Levi, or I’ll ask you to come back in.”_

“So you’re the most honest and good person that I know,” Levi informed him, still staring into the dark apartment. “I need your advice.”

A small laugh from the other end, then Erwin said, _“Wow. You need more friends if you honestly believe that, but sure. Go on.”_

“If someone were to leave their door unlocked, and I happened to enter their house because of this, would you consider that to be breaking and entering?”

Silence. Apparently he had stumped him.

_“Well...”_  Erwin trailed off, clearly at a loss. _“Are you planning on taking anything?”_

“No,” Levi said. He doubted the other would have anything of value for him to take.

_“Okay, well...”_  Silence once more, but he could tell Erwin was chewing this over, probably rubbing that abnormally large chin of his. _“What are you planning on doing? What’s the purpose behind your entry? Why are you entering someone’s house just because their door is unlocked?”_

His eyes surveyed the area he could see, the long corridor into the heart of the apartment. It opened into the living room at the end, but it was just as dark and empty as the rest of the apartment seemed to be. The bedroom and bathroom were likely around the corner.

“I just wanted to check in on someone. I’m worried about them, and their door is unlocked. I figured checking in on them would be all right, but wanted to make sure I wasn’t breaking and entering.”

_“I think... it’s kind of a grey area, in that case,”_  Erwin said, still sounding thoughtful. _“From my perspective, I would think it’s okay if you weren’t planning on hurting anyone or taking anything. I suppose it would really depend on the person.”_

“Okay.” Levi hung up.

He didn’t know what kind of person the student was aside from being polite, but if he wasn’t even home, Levi could just leave quickly like he’d never been there at all. But if he _was_  home, well, that became a concern because he should’ve answered the door.

Stepping into the apartment, he shut the door behind himself, turning on the hall light so he could see. The floor looked dirty, but there were streak marks, as if someone had attempted to clean it without having enough cleaner to do so. Walking slowly to the end of the corridor, his eyes surveyed the living room. It had a broken couch, an old television—one of the huge box-kind, not a flat-screen—and a DVD player. There were two movies on top of the player, and that was it. The rest of the living room was empty.

It connected to the kitchen, which was devoid of anything save a fridge and a stove. The stove had seen better days and when Levi opened the fridge out of curiosity, the only thing he found inside was a bottle of ketchup and some mouldy salsa. Seeing that made him scowl, and he felt more upset than he wished he did.

Shutting the fridge, he bypassed the bathroom’s open door and moved to the only other door in the corridor. It was ajar, so he pushed on it lightly with one hand and looked inside.

It was like looking into an old version of his own room from a few years ago and it made his stomach clench horribly. There was a ratty old dresser in the corner, a closet with a broken door, and a mattress on the floor. No bed frame, no night table, nothing. Just the mattress.

Someone was lying on it, covered in a blanket, breathing hard and shivering.

Levi flipped on the light and moved instantly to the student’s side. His face was flushed and he was covered in sweat, his hair sticking to his forehead. When Levi touched his face, ignoring the sweat, he felt like he was way too warm. Wasn’t there a limit to how hot someone could get before it became fatal?

“Hey,” he said, grabbing the other’s shoulder and giving him a shake. “Hey brat. Wake up. Can you hear me?”

Nothing. He just continued to shiver and breathe harshly through his mouth.

“Shit.”

Levi rubbed at his mouth, mind racing. Cursing again, he pulled his phone out, hit the redial button, and put it back to his ear.

_“Are you in jail looking for me to bail you out?”_

“I have another question for you.”

_“This doesn’t bode well. Are you going to tell me what’s going on?”_

“If I were to take someone, I mean, physically remove someone from their own apartment for their own good, is that technically kidnapping?” he asked, reaching out to touch the other’s forehead again, looking around the room.

It was very dank and dirty. The blanket he was using looked like it hadn’t been washed in months, and it was so old it was fraying and ripped, the fluff inside coming out and likely rendering the blanket useless.

_“Is...”_  Erwin trailed off. _“Is their house on fire?”_

“No.”

_“Okay... Can you tell me why, exactly, you’re looking to remove them from their own home?”_

Levi’s lips pressed together, free hand brushing the other’s sweaty bangs off his forehead. “He’s really sick,” he said quietly. “I think he needs help.”

_“Should you be calling an ambulance?”_

He wasn’t sure. And even if he did, how would he explain anything about why he was there and who he was? He didn’t even know the student’s _name_. He also wasn’t sure the other _needed_  an ambulance.

Yet, anyway.

“I don’t think it’s _that_  serious yet, but... he needs someone to take care of him.”

_“Why can’t you look after him there? Wherever you are. Why are you removing him from his apartment?”_

Annoyed at having to explain himself, Levi let out a short exhale. “Because this is the place I didn’t get invited into. And looking around, I don’t think this is a good place for him.” He glanced around the room once more. “Actually, I wouldn’t be surprised if he was so sick _because_  of where he currently is. It’s really cold and dirty in here. He doesn’t have anything, not even a bed, and his blanket is a piece of shit. It would help a lot if I could take him home with me.”

_“Levi, where **are** you? Who is this?”_

“That’s none of your business.”

Testament to how well they knew one another, Erwin didn’t say anything in response to that, he just sighed in exasperation and addressed his initial concerns.

_“It goes back to what I said earlier about what sort of person he is, whether or not he would report you for breaking and entering. It depends on his character. He might see you as a good person for caring enough to enter his home and remove him from it, or he might think you’re a completely psychotic stalker and call the police. I can’t tell you, Levi.”_

Erwin was right. There was a lot riding on what kind of person he was. But he couldn’t just _leave_  him there, and he felt like calling an ambulance might almost be worse. He would be questioned for sure, and really wouldn’t have any suitable answers. At least if he took him home, while still a stupid and reckless idea, he had a slightly better chance of the other being appreciative and not pressing charges when he was just trying to help.

“I’ll deal with the consequences when they hit. He needs help, so I’m going to help him. Meet me at my house in half an hour.”

He heard Erwin let out a curse just as Levi hung up his phone. His one hand was still on the student’s forehead while he scrolled through his contacts and called Hanji.

_“I’m at work.”_

“I know, I need you to get me some things. I’ll pay you back when I get there.”

_“Okay... Is everything all right?”_

“Write this down,” he said in answer. “A thermometer, Advil, Tylenol, chicken noodle soup, bread, and crackers. And some sports drinks. Anything with electrolytes.”

_“Is this for the kid? Is he okay?”_

“I’ll be there in five minutes. Wait for me at the door.” He hung up.

Staring back down at the student, he realized now he had to figure out how to get him to his car. Levi was strong, but this kid was literally going to be deadweight, like a lumpy sack of potatoes. That was why he’d asked Erwin to meet him at his place.

Scowling, he shoved his phone back into his pocket and then wrenched the blankets off him. The brunet was wearing sweats and a loose shirt, both of which were completely drenched in sweat. Levi wondered how long he’d been in here, alone, sick. It made his chest uncomfortable, but he ignored the feeling and grabbed one of the other’s arms, forcing him to sit up. Shifting accordingly, he managed to get his shoulder against the student’s stomach and then heaved, standing and rearranging the other’s weight, carrying him over his shoulder.

Turning, he moved quickly out the door, somewhat uncomfortable with how light the other was. Considering his height, he really shouldn’t have been that light. He definitely wasn’t eating enough, and being sick probably hadn’t helped.

Walking quickly through the apartment, he exited through the front door, realizing he should’ve searched for the key before deciding there was _literally_  nothing to steal. So he just shut the door behind himself and headed for the stairs.

He felt a nervous sweat break out across his skin when he passed a couple in the stairwell on the second floor, but they didn’t so much as give him a second glance. He figured they probably didn’t want any trouble, since Levi was wearing a pressed and tailored suit, and was lugging around a teenager over his shoulder. They probably thought he was some kind of thug for a mafia boss.

When he reached the ground floor, he looked both ways before rushing across the street, unlocking his car with the push of a button and moving to the back door. Opening it and getting the student into it, he tried to buckle him in as best he could with him lying down, then shut the door and got behind the wheel.

The drive back to Wal-Mart was just as fast as it had been from the store to the apartment. Hanji was waiting at the door, as requested, holding two bags. Levi stopped beside them and pulled out his wallet, rolling down his window.

“How much?”

“Did you kidnap him?!” Hanji asked incredulously, evidently able to see the student in the back seat.

“How much?” he snapped again.

His friend looked concerned, but he ignored that and handed them the indicated amount through the window, taking the bags in exchange and setting them on the passenger seat.

“Levi,” Hanji said, grabbing the edge of his window before he could peel away, “what are you doing?”

He clenched his jaw. “What you and Erwin once did for me.”

Stepping on the gas, it forced Hanji to let go and Levi tore out of the parking lot, rolling his window up while weaving his way into traffic.

Levi wasn’t stupid, he knew this wasn’t exactly the same thing. Hanji and Erwin had helped him, this was true, but they’d all been friends. He didn’t _know_  the kid in the back seat, but no one had come to help him. No one even seemed to know he was sick. Or cared.

The only people who had given any notice to his absence were people in a store he frequented. People who didn’t know his name. People whose name _the student_  didn’t even know.

And now Levi, a complete stranger, was bringing him home to make sure _someone_  took care of him. To make sure he didn’t die without anyone even knowing.

His hands clenched around the steering wheel at the thought, an ache in his chest, but he forced it aside viciously. It hadn’t happened. He hadn’t died alone in his bedroom. Levi was going to make sure he got better and then he’d... he didn’t know yet.

He’d figure something out. Maybe the kid could come do chores at his place or something. He figured all the money he had went to rent and tuition, which was probably why he couldn’t even afford toilet paper. School probably kept him too busy to get a good, well-paying, consistent job so Levi figured if he came to do chores—

“You are getting way ahead of yourself,” he insisted. “He might call the cops on you when he wakes up. One thing at a time.”

Then again, he hadn’t brought the other’s phone—if he even _had_  one—and Levi only had his cell, no landline. If he called the police, he’d have to get to a phone first.

When he pulled up to the garage door of his apartment building, he found Erwin waiting for him outside the gate. He pressed the button on the small clicker he left in his glovebox and drove into the underground, Erwin walking in leisurely behind his car.

By the time his friend reached him, Levi had already exited his car and grabbed his groceries, moving to open the back door and unbuckling the brunet before moving aside for Erwin to reach in for him.

“So who is he?” the blond man asked with a grunt, straightening and shifting the teen in his arms. He was carrying him with one arm beneath his knees and one beneath his shoulders, like a bride. Levi felt he had been more considerate, but said nothing and just shut the back door, locking his car with a click of a button.

“Just some kid who shops at Wal-Mart.”

“Levi, I know you. You wouldn’t be bringing a stranger into your house out of the goodness of your heart unless you had a reason.”

He said nothing, swiping the fob to enter the secured area where the lifts were and hitting the “up” button.

When it was clear the topic wasn’t open to discussion, his friend shrugged, muttered something about asking Hanji, and followed Levi into the elevator once it arrived. Levi jabbed insistently at the button for his floor, wanting to get rid of Erwin as quickly as possible.

He was only there as the muscle. Once the student was safely in a bed, Erwin was leaving.

* * *

Levi was finding it hard to concentrate. He knew a part of it was because he was worried about when the student woke up and found himself _not_  in his own apartment, but another part of him was also worried about the fact that he _hadn’t_  woken up yet.

It had been almost four hours since he’d brought him home. He’d put a cool cloth on his forehead and wiped him down—the visible skin, he hadn’t taken anything off!—but he was starting to wonder if maybe he _should_  be bringing him to the hospital.

Throwing his pen down in annoyance and tugging his laptop closer, he opened up Google and began to look up what temperatures warranted a hospital visit. Having that number, he stood and headed for the bedroom again, grabbing the thermometer while passing the counter in the kitchen. He stopped outside the door, always having to steel himself slightly before actually entering, then pushed the door open.

He froze when, for the first time in four hours, the student was awake.

And he was crying.

Levi stayed completely immobile in the doorway, one hand on the knob and the other still clutching the thermometer, eyes on the teen sitting up in the bed. He had his knees pulled up to his chest, arms wrapped around them and head bowed while he cried. Levi wondered if he could get away with exiting the room without being noticed.

He shifted backwards, slowly inching the door shut.

The fucking thing creaked.

The student looked up, face tear-streaked and snot leaking from his nose. An attractive sight, really.

“Am I dead?”

It took a few seconds for the words to register in Levi’s brain because it was such a ridiculous question he was positive he’d misheard. “What? No you’re not fucking dead, what’s the matter with you?”

Moving through the bedroom and into the adjoining bathroom, he grabbed the box of tissues on the counter after setting the thermometer down, then headed back into the room, tossing it to the other. The student barely managed to catch the box, risking it hitting him in the face.

“Clean yourself up, you have snot dripping from your nose, it’s disgusting.”

He could only assume his tone had startled the other into action because he hastily pulled two tissues from the box and proceeded to blow his nose. Loudly. Levi winced, looking away and shoving his hands into his pockets. He waited until the other had composed himself enough that he wasn’t sniffling anymore and then turned back to him, seeing him wiping his eyes.

“Why the fuck did you think you were dead?”

When the student looked back at him, he stared for a second and then seemed to realize who he was.

“You’re that guy... The one from the store. You bought my stuff that one time.”

Well, at least he’d left a good impression.

“Where am I?”

“My house.” Levi shifted his weight, keeping his expression neutral. Now came the awkward and difficult conversation. “I know someone at Wal-Mart, they said you didn’t look so good when you were last in. People were worried about you. Pretty sure you almost died.” He headed for the door. “Are you hungry? I bought soup. And bread. I don’t think your stomach can handle anything heavier.”

He didn’t get an answer, but went to grab the food anyway. He’d already made the soup specifically so that it would be ready when the other woke up, so he just tossed it into the microwave to warm it back up and put two pieces of bread into the toaster. Then, he waited. He heard nothing from the bedroom, and wondered if the other was trying to climb out the window.

When everything was finished and he headed back into the room, the other was still sitting on the bed, watching him approach. He put the soup on the nightstand beside a glass of water he’d set down earlier. It was empty, so he handed the toast over and then went to refill it.

By the time he’d returned, one entire piece of toast was gone and the soup was half-finished, the other spooning it into his mouth so fast it was like he thought Levi was going to steal it back from him.

“Don’t choke,” he snapped, setting the water down and sitting on the edge of the bed.

He kept waiting for the other to ask him why he was there, how he’d found him, how he even knew where he lived. He kept waiting for questions about what kind of weirdo took someone out of their house and brought them somewhere unknown. He was also waiting for the student to ask him what he’d done to him while he was sleeping.

He didn’t. He said nothing, eating his soup, and then the toast, and then draining the glass again before setting everything down on the nightstand.

“Thanks,” he said quietly.

Levi grunted, then leaned forward, pressing one hand to the other’s forehead. He expected him to flinch, or at least lean back or something, but he didn’t. He just sat there and let Levi check his temperature. Now that he was awake, it felt weird to grab the thermometer and shove it in his mouth.

“You’re still warm. You should try and get some more sleep.” He stood, grabbing the glass and heading for the bathroom with it. “There’s some Advil and Tylenol on the nightstand. I didn’t know if you were allergic to anything so I got both.” He returned with the glass, setting it down and picking the dishes up so he could bring them to the kitchen. “I’m going to head to bed in a little while, but if you need anything, just come knock on my door. It’s at the end of the hall.” He nodded towards the bathroom. “Bathroom’s in there if you want to shower. I left a towel out for you. There’s some more soup in the fridge, you can heat it up if you get hungry. Crackers are on the counter. Bread’s beside the toaster.”

He felt like he’d covered everything so he nodded once, then turned to leave the room.

“Why?”

He stopped, back still to the other. It was the same question he’d asked the last time. His answer wouldn’t be very different.

“Because sometimes you just need a hand to get up off the ground.”

“Aren’t you worried I’m going to steal something?”

He turned to give him an unimpressed look. “If you were going to steal something, you’d have stolen medicine from Wal-Mart before you got this sick.” He hesitated, then frowned. “Shouldn’t you be more worried about how you got here?”

The grin he got in response to that almost knocked the wind out of him. “Why? You’re a good person, aren’t you? There’s nothing for me to worry about.”

Levi stared at him, wondering just how down on his luck the other was that he was trusting him so easily.

“I’m Levi.”

“Eren.” He was grinning again. “Thanks for your help, Levi. I appreciate everything you’ve done for me.”

Nodding once, Levi touched the knob, exiting the room. “Get some rest, Eren. I’ll check on you in the morning.”

He shut the door behind him.

**END.**


End file.
